UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


lissioner  of  the  General  Land 


WASHINGTON,  D.O. 


In  the  Matter,  of  Adjustment  of  the  Congressional 
Land  Grant  of  150,000  Acres  to  the  State  of 
California. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


SACRAMENTO: 

p  STATE  OFFICE,    :     :     :     :    J.  D.  YOUNG,    SUPT.    STATE    PRINTING. 

&  1888. 


1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


of  the  General  Land 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


In  the  Matter  of  Adjustment  of  the  Congressional 
Land  Grant  of  150,000  Acres  to  the  State  of 
California. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


SACRAMENTO: 

STATE  OFFICE,    :     :    :     :    J.  D.  YOUNG,    SUPT.    STATE   PRINTING. 

1888. 


OOERESPOISTDEN  CE. 


First — Relating  to  the  return  and  cancellation  of  the  deed  exe- 
cuted by  the  Governor  under  date  of  November  26,  1883,  on  the 
part  of  the  Board  of  Regents,  reconveying  to  the  United  States 
certain  lands  heretofore  listed. 

Second — Relating  to  the  reconveyance  of  selections  erroneously 
listed  by  the  Land  Department  at  Washington  to  the  grant  of 
150,000  acres. 


RELATING   TO   THE 


Deed  executed  by  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  California,  under 
date  of  November  26,  1883,  requesting  the  return  and  cancel- 
lation of  the  same. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 
BERKELEY,  October  13,  1887. 

To  the   honorable  the  Commissioner  of  the    General  Land  Office, 
Washington,  D.  C. : 

SIR:  The  undersigned,  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  California, 
and  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of 
California,  have  been  instructed  by  said  Board  to  transmit  to  you 
the  annexed  documents,  relating  to  University  lands,  and  to  re- 
quest the  return  and  cancellation  of  a  deed  of  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  bearing  date  November  26,  1883,  conveying  to  the 
United  States  certain  lands  enumerated  in  the  annexed  docu- 
ments. 

A  law  of  the  State  of  California,  enacted  March  13,  1883  (see 
Statutes  of  California,  1883,  page  287),  a  copy  of  which  is  hereto 
attached,  authorized  the  Governor  to  make  the  reconveyance 
referred  to,  upon  request  of  the  Board  of  Regents;  said  Board  of 
Regents  afterwards  requested  the  Governor  to  execute  a  deed 
reconveying  certain  lands  to  the  United  States,  and  the  Governor, 
by  deed  dated  November  26,  1883,  in  pursuance  of  law  and  the 
order  of  the  Board,  did  so  reconvey.  The  above  deed  is  condi- 
tional, and  for  its  completeness  requires  the  passage  of  an  Act  of 
Congress,  to  authorize  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  to  cancel  the  selections  named  in  the  deed,  and  to  author- 
ize the  Board  of  Regents  to  make  selections  of  other  lands  instead 
of  those  mentioned.  Having  failed  to  obtain  the  passage  of  the 
said  enabling  Act,  the  said  deed  is  inoperative.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  Board  of  Regents,  under  changed  conditions,  has  found 
an  opportunity  to  sell  a  portion  of  the  lands  so  reconveyed  by  the 
Governor,  but  cannot  do  so  until  said  deed  is  canceled. 

The  Board  of  Regents  therefore  respectfully  request  you  to 
return  said  conveyance  to  J.  H.  C.  Bonte,  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Regents,  for  cancellation. 

Very  respectfully, 

R.  W.  WATERMAN, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  California. 

J.  H.  C.  BONTE,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents. 


The  following  action  was  had  by  the  Board  of  Regents  at  their 
meeting  of  September  6,  1887: 

WHEREAS,  In  pursuance  of  a  recommendation  of  the  Board  of 
Regents  of  the  University  of  California,  the  Legislature  of  this 
State  passed  an  Act  which  was  approved  March  13,  1883,  author- 
izing the  Governor  to  grant  and  reconvey  to  the  United  States 
such  lands  as  might  thereafter  be  reported  to  him,  of  which  Act 
the  following  is  a  copy: 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

An  Act  to  authorize  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  California  to  reconvey  to  the  United 
States  a  part  of  the  lands  heretofore  granted  the  State  of  California  by  Act  of  Con- 
gress of  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  listed  to  the  State  of  Cal- 
'ifornia,  under  the  Agricultural  College  grant  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
acres. 

[Approved  March  13,  1883.    Stats,  of  Cal.  1883,  p.  287.] 
ARTICLE  152. 

WHEREAS,  Under  and  by  virtue  of  an  Act  donating  public  lands  to  the  sev- 
eral States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  approved  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two, 
and  amendments  thereto,  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  California,  acting 
under  and  in  conformity  with  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia entitled  "An  Act  to  create  and  organize  the  University  of  California," 
approved  March  twenty-third,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  did  select  as 
a  part  of  said  grant,  certain  lands  which  were  duly  listed  to  the  State  by  the 
United  States — and  it  now  appearing  that  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  University 
of  California  to  secure  the  cancellation  of  said  selections,  it  is  therefore  neces- 
sary to  reconvey  to  the  United  States  said  lands,  and  thereby  secure  the  right 
to  select  other  lands  instead  thereof.  Therefore, 

The  People  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly,  do  enact 

as  follows: 

SECTION  1.  The  Regents  of  the  University  of  California  are  authorized  and 
required  to  report  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  California  a  description  of 
such  of  the  lands  granted  to  the  State  of  California  by  authority  of  the  Act  of 
Congress  of  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  amendments 
thereto,  and  listed  to  the  State  of  California,  that  should  be  reconveyed  to  the 
United  States. 

ARTICLE  153. 

SEC.  2.  Whenever  the  report  provided  for  in  the  first  section  of  this  Act 
shall  have  been  received  by  the  Governor,  he  may  and  is  authorized  in  the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  California  to  grant  and 
reconvey  to  the  United  States  such  lands  as  may  be  embraced  and  described  in 
said  report. 

SEC.  3.    This  Act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

WHEREAS,  A  report  was  thereafter  made  to  the  Governor  of 
such  lands,  and  the  Governor  thereafter,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day 
of  November,  1883,  did  sign  a  conveyance  of  the  lands  tnerein 
described,  as  follows: 


-7- 

Town- 
ship. 

Range. 

Description. 

Sec- 
tion. 

Area. 

28  S.. 
268.  . 
268.  . 
14  S. 

18  E 

San  Francisco  District. 
E  i 

8 
4 
4 
14 
14 
22 
24 
4 
11 
29 
22 

10 
30 
6 

8 
4 

10 

8 
20 
18 
22 
10 
10 
23 

34 
35 

33 

2 
12 

o 

4 
33 

3 
17 
9 
14 
25 

24 
20 

14 
13 
25 
24 

34 

$ 

85.23 
40 
40 
40 
80 
40 
40 
40 
160 
80 
40 
40.52 
40 
40 
40 
80 
40 
80 
120 
40 
40 
40 
80 
80 

40 
80 
80 
40 

79.98 
80 
40 
80 
80 
40 
40 
160 
40 

160 

160 
160 
40 
160 
80 
80 
55.48 

56.54 
160 
320 
560 

240 

44.65 

12  E... 
12  E... 
7E. 

E.lofS.W.j     

E.  |  of  N.W.  J  

S  E.  Jof  N.W  J                     

14  S.. 

13  N.. 
278.. 
298.. 
9N.. 
14  N.. 
248.  . 
248. 

7E.  .. 
13  W.  . 
10  E.  .. 

19  E 

N  E  J  of  N  W  1                              - 

S.E.  Jof  S.W.  J-.--  

N  W  1  of  S  E  i  and  8  E  i  of  S  E  J 

SE  jof  SE  j 

10W.  . 
16  W.  - 
16  E.  .. 
16  E. 

S.E.  Jof  S.W.  j  
S  E  J  of  N  W  J 

E.  *  of  S.E.  J,  N.W.  J  of  S.E.  J,  and  N.E.  J  of  S.W.  j.. 
W."i  of  N  W.  J 

248.  . 

278.. 
228.  . 
228.. 
218.  . 
88.  . 
238.  . 
238.  . 
22  S.  . 
26  S.  . 
14  N.. 
158.  . 
158.  . 
24  N.. 

UN.. 

11  N.. 
UN. 
11  N. 

16  E.  .  . 

HE... 

11  E.  . 

S.Efjof  N.E.J  '.__.__  

Lot  1  or  N  W  J  of  N  W  J 

S.E.  Jof  S.E.J  

HE... 
12  E. 

N.E.J  of  N.E.J    

S.W.  Jof  S.W.  J 

4  W.  . 
14  E. 

W.  i  of  N.E.  J 

N.W  J  of  S  W.  J 

14  E.  .  . 
14  E.  .. 
12  E.  .. 
16  W.  . 
10  E.  .. 
10  E.  .. 
19  W.  . 

24  W. 
24  W.  . 
24  W.  . 
24  W. 

W.iof  S.W.  J  
S.W".  Jof  S.E.  j  and  S.  i  of  S.W.  J  

N.W.  Jof  S.E.  J  
N.W.  J  of  S.E.  J 

S.E.  Jof  N.W.  J  

E.  i  of  S.E  J 

S.f  of  N.W.  J  -  

All  of  Mt.  Diablo  base  and  meridian. 
S.E.  Jof  S.E.  J  
W.  i  of  S.W.  J 

W.  *  of  S  W  J 

N.W.  J  of  N  W  i 

23  N.. 
15  N.. 

23  N.. 

15  N.. 
15  N.. 
21  N. 
21  N._ 
25  N 

2  W.  . 
IE... 
3  W.  . 
IE.  .. 
2  E. 

All  of  San  Bernardino  meridian. 
Marysville  District. 
Lots  4  and  5                     .  .       

N.  iof  N.W.  J                                           -   - 

S.W.  Jof  S.W.  J 

S.  %  of  S  W  j 

S  E  J  of  N  E  J  and  N  E  J  of  S  E  J 

2E.  .. 
2E.  .. 
6  W 

N.E.  Jof  S.W.J  
N.W.  J  of  S.E.  J 

SE  J 

25  N.. 
118.  . 

us.  . 

118.. 

58.  . 
2  N 

6  W.  . 
20  E.  .. 

N.E.  Jof  N.W.  j 

Stockton  District. 
S.W.  J... 

20  E.  .. 
20  E 

S.E.  J.. 

N.W.  4 

6  E.  ..  N.E.  jVf  N.E.  J..  
7  E        N  W  J 

68.  . 
68.. 
118.  . 

17  N.. 
12  N.. 
12  N.. 

12  N.. 

26  N.. 

30  N.. 

7E.       N.i  of  NE  j 

7  E.        N  i  of  N  W  4 

8E.  .. 

15  E.  .  . 
17  E.  .. 
17  E. 

Fractional  S  E  J 

Sacramento  District. 
Lots  4  and  5           .  -.         .       .  --  

S.E.  J                                                                         .       . 

E.  £  of  N.E.  J  W.  i  of  N.W.  J,  and  S.E.  J 

17  E... 

4  W.  . 

3  W.  . 

S.  f  and  N.E.  J,  and  E.  \  of  N.W.  J  

Shasta  District. 
N  i  of  N  E  J  and  N  W  J 

Lot4._ 

Town- 
ship. 

Range. 

Desc.iption. 

Sec- 
tion. 

Area. 

258.  . 

17  E.  .. 

Visalia  District. 
N.E.  i  of  N.E.  i,  or  Lot  1 

4 

41.60 

28  S.  - 

19  E.  . 

S.  W.  J  . 

9q 

160 

28  S. 

19  E. 

8.B.4 

SO 

160 

14  S. 

25  E.  .  . 

S.W.I  of  N.E.  i,  and  S.E.  i  of  N.W.  i  - 

9 

80 

14  S. 

25  E. 

S.  W  I  and  8  E  i  of  N  E  i 

9 

200 

ITS. 

23  E.  .. 

Fractional  N.W.  J                    ... 

6 

161  16 

19  S. 

24  E.  . 

Fractional  N.  i  of  N.E.  i 

6 

5615 

17  S. 

23  E. 

S.JL 

6 

31940 

17  S 

23  E. 

Fractional  N  E  i 

6 

16408 

25  S. 

26  E.  .  . 

N.W.  i  of  N.W.  i  .. 

34 

40 

238.  . 

16  E.  . 

S.E.  i  of  8.  W.l  (or  8.  J  of  Lot  5)    .. 

30 

40 

11  N 

21  W 

All  of  Mt.  Diablo  baseband  meridian 
Los  Angeles  District. 

W   i 

14 

320 

11  N 

21  W 

NW  \ 

18 

16069 

11  N. 

21  W. 

All  of  section 

99 

640 

11  N 

20  W. 

All  of  section 

9j 

640 

11  N 

21  W 

W  i 

6 

320 

IS. 

3  W. 

S.i!  

14 

320 

All  of  San  Bernardino  base  and  meridian. 

WHEREAS,  An  Act  of  Congress  was  necessary  to  the  acceptance 
of  said  conveyance,  but  a  bill  accepting  said  conveyance  and 
authorizing  the  selection  by  this  Board  of  other  lands  instead  of 
those  mentioned,  failed  to  pass,  and  said  conveyance  has  not  been 
accepted  on  the  part  of  the  United  States;  and, 

WHEREAS,  Applications  have  been  made  to  this  Board  to  pur- 
chase a  portion  of  said  lands,  and  it  is  deemed  for  the  best  interest 
of  the  University  that  said  conveyance  be  recalled  and  canceled, 
that  said  lands  may  be  disposed  of;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  hereof  be  forwarded  by  the  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  at  Washington,  D.  C., 
and  that  he  be  requested  to  return  said  conveyance  to  this  Board 
for  cancellation,  and  that  said  conveyance  be  and  is  hereby  de- 
clared to  be  withdrawn  and  canceled. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  join  in  this  request 
for  the  return  of  said  conveyance. 

Resolved,  further,  That  this  Board  ratines  and  approves  the  can- 
cellations heretofore  made  by  the  General  Land  Department  of 
the  United  States  of  the  listed  selections  of  lands  included  in  said 
conveyance,  and  that  the  Governor  be  authorized  and  requested 
to  execute  to  the  United  States  any  conveyance  or  release  that 
may  be  required  by  said  Land  Department  in  confirmation  thereof. 

Adopted. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,         \ 
BERKELEY,  ALAMEDA  Co.,  CAL.,  October  13,  1887.  ) 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  within  is  a  true  and  correct  copy 
from  the  minutes  of  the  Board  of  Regents. 

Given  under  mv  hand  and  seal  this  thirteenth  day  of  October, 
1887. 

(Signed:)  J.  H.  C.  BONTE, 

[SEAL.]    Secretary  of  Board  of  Regents,  University  of  California. 


[Initial "  C."] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR — GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE,         ) 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  25,  1887.  ) 

Hon.  J.  H.  C.  BONTE,  Berkeley,  California : 

SIR  :  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  October  eighteenth  last, 
wherein,  as  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University 
of  California,  you  request  the  return  to  you,  in  order  that  the 
same  may  be  canceled,  of  a  deed  issued  by  the  Governor  of  the 
State,  bearing  date  November  26, 1883,  reconveying  to  the  United 
States  certain  lands  therein  described,  which  had  theretofore 
been  certified  to  the  State  in  part  satisfaction  of  the  grant  of 
150,000  acres  for  the  establishment  of  a  college  for  the  benefit  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  by  the  Act  of  Congress, 
approved  July  2,  1862. 

The  records  of  this  office  show  that  the  lands  so  conveyed  to 
the  United  States  had  previously  been  selected  for  the  benefit  of 
the  said  college  (now  known  as  the  University  of  California),  by 
a  duly  authorized  agent  thereof,  from  the  public  lands  of  the 
United  States;  that  subsequently,  at  divers  times,  the  said  se- 
lections had  been  approved  and  certified  to  the  State  of  California 
by  this  Department,  and  had  been  duly  charged  against  the  said 
grant. 

Said  lands  were  of  the  class,  the  price  whereof  had  been  en- 
hanced to  $2  50  per  acre,  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  alternate  odd 
numbered  sections  for  the  benefit  of  certain  railroad  companies, 
the  selection  of  which  was  authorized  by  Act  of  Congress,  ap- 
proved March  3,  1871. 

In  November,  1883,  the  Attorney  for  the  University,  E.  O.  F. 
Hastings,  Esq.,  was  sent  to  this  city  to  lay  before  the  Department 
certain  facts  in  regard  to  the  grant,  viz.:  that  the  University  was 
unable  to  pay  to  the  United  States  the  sum  of  $1  25  per  acre 
required  by  the  Act  of  March  3,  1871,  upon  selections  of  double 
minimum  lands,  for  the  reason  that  the  parties  in  whose  interest 
the  selections  had  been  made  had  refused  to  pay  for  the  land, 
and  there  was  no  fund  available  to  the  University  from  which 
such  payments  could  be  made. 

It  was  also  shown  that  in  pursuance  of  a  recommendation  of 


—  10  — 

the  Board  of  Regents,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  California 
passed  an  Act,  which  was  approved  March  13,  1883,  authorizing 
the  Governor  to  reconvey  the  lands  so  selected  to  the  United 
States,  and  to  ask  that  the  selections  thereof  be  canceled. 

In  view  of  the  representations  of  the  attorney  for  the  University 
above  referred  to,  and  in  consideration  of  reconveyance  of  the 
lands  by  the  Governor  of  the  State,  this  office,  under  dates  of 
December  3,  1883,  and  June  9, 1884,  canceled  certain  of  the  selec- 
tions described  in  said  deed,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  sev- 
eral thousand  acres. 

It  appears,  however  (for  what  reason  does  not  appear),  that  a 
portion  of  the  selections  mentioned  in  the  deed,  amounting  in  the 
aggregate  to  5,917T9o\  acres,  were  not  canceled  on  the  above  dates, 
nor  upon  any  subsequent  date,  but  are  still  intact  upon  the  rec- 
ords; and  it  is  in  relation  to  these  uncanceled  selections  that  you 
desire  the  return  of  the  deed  in  order  that  the  same  may  be  can- 
celed, application  having  been  made  to  the  University  for  the 
purchase  thereof. 

In  reply  I  would  state  that  there  is  no  probability  of  the  remain- 
ing selections  being  canceled  by  this  office,  as  it  is  not  the  present 
policy  of  the  Government  to  cancel  entries  or  locations  upon 
which  patent  has  issued;  and  the  approval  and  certification  of 
State  selections  is  equivalent  to  patenting  the  same.  Further- 
more, in  the  recent  attempts  at  adjusting  the  grant  for  University 
purposes  in  California,  the  selections  referred  to  were  charged  to 
the  said  grant  as  lands  whereof  the  title  had  passed  to  the  State. 

Hence,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  document  you  ask  me  to 
return  to  you  represents,  in  the  main,  the  authority  of  this  office 
for  its  action  in  the  premises,  and  in  view  of  the  further  fact  that 
your  communication  above  referred  to,  wherein  you  prefer  such 
request,  is  a  virtual  abrogation  of  the  former  action,  reconveying 
said  lands  to  the  United  States,  I  can  see  no  good  reason  for  the 
return  of  the  deed,  and  must  therefore  decline  to  accede  to  your 
request. 

Very  respectfully, 

S.  M.  STOCKSLAGER, 

Acting  Commissioner. 


—  11  — 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,          | 
BERKELEY,  May  18,  1888.  ) 

To   the   honorable  the    Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
Washington,  D.  C.: 

SIR:  Being  requested  to  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  twenty-fifth 
November,  1887,  addressed  to  Hon.  J.  H.  C.  Bonte,  Berkeley, 
California,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following: 

It  appears  that  at  divers  times  prior  to  the  thirteenth  of  March, 
1883,  there  had  been  listed  to  the  State  of  California  under  and 
against  the  agricultural  grant  of  150,000  acres,  certain  parcels 
of  minimum  and  double  minimum  lands,  aggregating  about 
9,000  acres.  It  being  deemed  best,  the  Governor  of  California 
under  Act  of  the  State  Legislature  (thirteenth  of  March,  1883), 
made  and  executed  a  deed  to  the  United  States  reconveying  this 
land  as  therein  particularly  described.  Upon  receipt  of  the  deed, 
your  Department  has  canceled  the  lists  for  the  double  minimum 
land,  leaving  the  minimum  land  still  charged  against  the  grant. 

Clearly,  if  the  deed  operated  to  divest  the  State  and  invest  the 
United  States  with  the  title  to  one  parcel,  it  had  the  same  effect 
as  to  the  other,  and  the  State  is  divested  of  the  title  to  the  whole. 
Understanding  from  your  letter  that  there  will  be  no  cancellation 
of  the  lists  to  the  minimum  land  (some  5,900  acres),  the  question 
is  presented  as  to  how  the  State  is  to  be  reinvested  with  the  title 
to  those  parcels,  the  5,900  acres;  and  upon  this  I  suggest  that 
probably  the  easiest  and  plainest  way  is  to  relist  the  same  tracts 
to  the  State,  either  upon  the  same  applications,  or  upon  new  ones 
if  you  think  better. 

Having  conveyed  this  land,  the  5,900  acres  of  the  minimum 
land,  to  the  United  States,  the  State  cannot  now  sell  or  deal  with 
it,  and  it  still  remaining  a  charge  against  the  State. 

You  must  readily  see  that  we  must  look  to  your  Department 
for  a  settlement  of  the  matter,  and  I  beg  that  you  will  favor  us 
with  such  suggestions  or  instructions  as  may  be  necessary  there- 
for. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  HAM.  HARRIS, 
Land  Agent  of  the  University  of  California. 


COKKESPONDENCE 

RELATING   TO    THE 

Erroneous  listing  by  the  United  States  to  the  grant  of  150,000  acres 
of  certain  lands  in  Township  2  north,  Range  3  west,  Mount 
Diablo  Meridian,  for  which  reconveyance  is  requested  by  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office. 


[Initial  "  C."]  [1887—122,  301.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR,  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE,          | 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  30,  1887.  ) 

J.  HAM.  HARRIS,   Land  Agent   of  the   University  of  California, 
Berkeley,  California : 

SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  the  following  communications  from  the 
United  States  Attorney  at  San  Francisco,  the  Attorney-General, 
and  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  copies  of  which  are  herewith  in- 
closed : 

1.  Letter  from  John  T.  Carey,  United  States  Attorney,  San 
Francisco,  September  8,  1887,  advising  that  the  "  listing"  to  the 
State  of  California  of  E.  \  of  S.W.  i  of  Sec.  26,  Tp.  2  N.,  R.  3  W., 
M.  D.  M.,  under  the  agricultural  college  grant,  be  canceled,  as 
the  State  has  not  patented  the  land,  and  stating  that  a  reconvey- 
ance by  you  can  be  obtained,  but  expressing  the  opinion  that  no 
officer  in  the  State  is  empowered  to  execute  such  instrument. 

2.  Letter  from  the  Attorney-General,  October  24,  1887,  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  suggesting  that  the  "  certification"  be 
canceled  and  a  deed  taken  reconveying  the  land. 

3.  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land    Office,  November  9.  1887,  calling 
attention  to  the  suggestion  of  the  Attorney-General,  and  directing 
that  the  selection  be  canceled  upon  reconveyance  by  deed  of  the 
title  to  the  land  by  the  u  State"  to  the  United  States,  and  that 
correspondence  be  entered  into  with  you  with  that  end  in  view. 

On  July  15,  1887,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  recommended 
to  the  Attorney-General  that  suit  be  brought  to  vacate  the  title  to 
said  tract,  which  passed  to  the  State  under  the  agricultural  col- 
lege grant  by  virtue  of  the  certification  of  a  transcript  of  approved 
list  13,  for  the  relief  of  preemptors  having  a  superior  claim  to  that 
of  the  State,  and  the  correspondence  referred  to  above  resulted 
from  said  recommendation. 

The  certification  vested  the  title  in  the  State,  and  unless  the 
State  relinquishes  her  title,  this  office  would  have  no  authority  to 
cancel  the  selection.  You  state  in  a  letter  to  the  District  Attor- 


—  13  — 

ney  that  it  has  been  the  practice  of  this  office  to  obtain  a  deed  of 
reconveyance  from  the  "University  (or  State),"  and  cancel  the 
selections  in  such  instances,  and  it  is  inferred  that  you  will  exe- 
cute such  deed  should  this  .office  so  request,  as  the  tract  has  not 
been  patented  by  the  State. 

Such  has  not  been  the  practice  of  this  office  latterly;  in  every 
instance  of  such  cancellations  by  this  office  for  years  a  relinquish- 
ment  was  first  obtained  from  the  Governor,  executed  by  the  latter 
under  special  authority  given  him  by  the  Legislature.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  power  of  a  general  nature  is  not  vested  in  some 
officer  of  the  State  to  execute  reconveyances  of  such  of  her  selec- 
tions of  land  as  have  been  erroneously  approved;  but  I  do  not 
find  that  such  authority  has  been  given  by  the  Legislature.  I 
find  that  the  revenue  from  -the  said  grant  inures  to  the  University 
under  the  California  law  of  March  23,  1868  (Cal.  Stat.,  1867-8,  p. 
248),  and  that  you,  as  agent  of  the  University,  are  empowered  to 
select  the  lands  and  sell  and  patent  them  to  purchasers  under  the 
direction  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  (Deering's 
Codes  and  Statutes  of  Cal.,  vol.  1,  p.  533),  but  I  do  not  find  that 
you  can  reconvey  the  State  title.  It  does  not  follow  that  you  can 
reconvey  the  State  title  because  you  can  sell  the  lands  and  thus 
dispose  of  such  title  as  by  law  provided. 

On  page  534,  said  volume  of  Codes  and  Statutes,  is  the  Act  of 
the  Legislature  of  March  13,  1883,  authorizing  the  Governor  to 
reconvey  to  the  United  States  certain  lands  embraced  in  selections 
made  for  the  University,  that  had  been  approved,  u  in  the  name 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  California." 

The  preamble  of  the  Act  sets  forth  that  it  was  to  the  interest  of 
the  University  to  secure  the  cancellation  of  the  selections,  and  that 
it  was  "therefore  necessary  to  reconvey  to  the  United  States  said 
lands."  If  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  University  that  the  selec- 
tions should  be  canceled,  and  the  agent  thereof  had  power  to 
reconvey,  why  was  the  matter  brought  before  the  Legislature  and 
the  Governor  empowered  to  do  it  ?  As  said  legislative  body  can- 
not be  supposed  to  have  done  a  vain  thing,  it  must  be  presumed 
that  no  officer  of  the  State  had  such  power. 

Before  taking  further  action  in  the  matter,  I  have  concluded  to 
invite  your  attention  to  the  foregoing  views,  and  request  you  to 
communicate  with  me  at  an  early  day  on  the  subject,  citing  the 
authority,  if  you  yet  hold  that  it  exists,  under  which  you  would 
execute  such  deed  of  reconveyance. 

Very  respectfully, 

S.  M.  STOCKSLAGER, 

Acting  Commissioner. 


—  14  — 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,          ) 
BERKELEY,  May  29,  1888.  j 

To  the  honorable  the   Commissioner  of   the   General  Land   Office, 
Washington,  D.  C.  : 

SIR:  In  the  matter  of  reconveyance  to  the  United  States  by  the 
Regents  of  the  University  of  California  (reference  is  hereby  made 
to  your  letter  of  November  30,  1887,  "Initial  C"),  of  the  east 
half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  Section  26,  Township  2  north, 
Range  3  west,  Mount  Diablo  Meridian,  listed  to  the  Agricultural 
Grant  in  clear  list  number  13,  San  Francisco  District,  approved 
February  13,  1885,  I  respectfully  submit  a  copy  of  letter  from 
John  B.  Mhoon,  counsel  for  the  Board  of  Regents,  of  date  April 
23,  1888;  said  letter  has  been  submitted  to  the  Committee  of 
Regents  of  the  University  on  Agricultural  Land  Grant,  and  by 
them  approved,  and  I  am  instructed  by  said  committee  to  advise 
you  that  if  acceptable,  they  will  obtain  a  resolution  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  authorizing  the  Governor  of  California,  its  President, 
as  President  of  said  Board  of  Regents,  to  execute  a  quitclaim  deed 
reconveying  to  the  United  States  the  land  in  question. 

This  course  has  been  pursued  in  all  cases  when  said  Board  has 
conveyed  real  estate  to  parties  purchasing  from  the  University  of 
California,  title  to  which  has  been  obtained  outside  of  the  grant 
of  150,000  acres. 

In  your  letter  of  November  30, 1887,  }TOU  ask,  "  If  it  was  for  the 
interest  of  the  University  that  the  selections  should  be  canceled, 
and  the  agent  thereof  had  power  to  reconvey,  why  was  the  matter 
brought  before  the  Legislature  and  the  Governor  empowered  to 
doit?" 

It  has  not  been  claimed  by  the  Regents  that  the  Land  Agent 
had  the  power  to  reconvey,  but  in  the  early  part  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  Commissioner  Williamson,  and  prior  to  his  time,  the 
Department  accepted  deeds  of  reconveyance  signed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  countersigned  by  the  Land  Agent — when  anticipating 
the  cancellation  of  the  selections  subsequently  embraced  in  deed 
by  the  Governor  to  the  United  States,  of  date  November  26, 1883, 
the  question  was  raised  by  your  Department  that  no  State  officer 
was  authorized  to  execute  a  deed  on  the  part  of  the  State.  To 
provide  for  this  contingency  the  Regents  obtained  the  passage  of 
the  Act  of  March  13,  1883.  The  selections  sought  to  be  canceled 
had  been  certified  to  the  grant  of  150,000  acres,  and  there  was 
TIO  question  as  to  its  validity — in  the  present  case  the  United  States 
could  not  give  title  to  the  land  listed  in  list  number  13,  San  Fran- 
cisco District — being  an  error  of  your  Department,  no  title  was 
conveyed. 

Any  suggestion  you  may  make  in  the  matter  will  be  considered 
and  promptly  carried  out  if  possible. 
Respectfully, 

J.  HAM.  HARRIS, 

Land  Agent  University  of  California. 


—  15  — 

In  re  Reconveyance  of  Land  to  the  United  Sta 
*  SAN  FRANCISCO 

^\  v  s^~  n        , 

J.  HAM.  HARRIS,  Esq.,  Land  Agent,  etc.: 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  twenty-first 
instant  in  reference  to  the  above  matter.  The  question  generally 
stated  is,  "  How  shall  the  State  reconvey  land  to  the  United  States 
which  has  been  by  mistake  certified  to  the  State  under  the  Agri- 
cultural College  grant?" 

It  would  seem  that  if  the  certificate  were  improper  or  illegal 
for  any  reason  that  no  title  passed,  and  in  my  opinion  the  case,  as. 
stated  in  your  letter  above  referred  to,  falls  within  this  rule,  and 
the  title  remained  in  the  United  States,  now  subject  to  be  con- 
veyed to  the  true  owner  or  purchaser.  If,  however,  the  reconvey- 
ance is  required  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  record  straight,  or  for  removing  a 
cloud,  or  for  any  purpose,  the  State,  no  doubt,  must  reconvey  in 
order  to  relieve  the  grant  of  that  charge. 

I  think  the  Commissioner  is  correct  in  his  construction  of  the 
legislative  Act  of  March  13,  1883.  The  reconveyance  requested 
must  be  authorized  by  some  other  Act.  The  certification  referred 
to  was  to  the  State  for  the  Agricultural  College.  These  lands  are 
subject  to  the  untrammeled  disposition  of  the  Board  of  Regents  (al- 
ways acting  in  good  faith  as  Trustees, of  course).  (Political  Code 
of  California,  3533.)  And  at  their  request,  properly  certified  to 
him,  the  Governor  executes  and  delivers  a  State  patent  therefor  to 
the  party  named  by  the  Regents.  (Political  Code  of  California. 
See  3534  and  3520;  also  State  Constitution,  Art.  V,  Sec.  14.) 

These  provisions  of  State  law  seem  to  me  sufficient  authority 
to  authorize  the  Board  of  Regents  to  request,  and  the  Governor 
to  execute  and  deliver,  a  patent  for  the  land  inadvertently  listed 
to  the  State  back  to  the  United  States,  or  it  might  be  better  to 
have  the  State  patent  issue  to  the  applicant  named  in  the  appli- 
cation to  the  Board  of  Regents  and  have  him  (the  applicant) 
reconvey  to  the  United  States. 

I  suggest  that  you  submit  these  propositions  to  the  United 
States  Commissioner  and  get  his  views.  Should  he  determine 
that  neither  of  these  plans  are  feasible,  and  does  not  suggest  an- 
other, it  will  be  necessary  to  apply  to  the  next  Legislature  for  an 
Act,  as  we  are  all  agreed  that  the  former  one  does  not  cover  the 
case. 

Very  respectfully, 

JOHN  B.  MHOOX, 
Counsel  for  the  Board  of  Regents. 


